Amma, Dogons and Richard Dawkins
I am a regular user of AbeBooks. Often, when I’m searching for books, I turn to the second-hand market, and AbeBooks, acting as an aggregator, is just perfect for my needs. Recently, among the recommended books, I came across a work by Richard Dawkins that I hadn’t read yet: The Magic of Reality. It’s a very accessible book that explains how to apply the scientific method to analyze the world around us. Interestingly, in my humble opinion, it pairs well with The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan, a work that significantly propelled the modern skepticism movement.
In one of the final chapters, Dawkins focuses on the concept of evil and how the human mind struggles to understand that there is no “blame” or “natural justice” behind negative events. Rather, everything results from a series of coincidences, only partially controllable by humans. How often do we ask ourselves: “Why did this happen to me? It’s so unfair!”
In exploring this peculiar aspect of human thought, Dawkins delves into one of the oldest myths known to the Dogon civilization: the myth of Amma. In the beginning, Amma, the Dogon god, had the shape of a cosmic egg: its four collarbones were fused, dividing the egg into air, earth, fire, and water. Within this primordial egg lay the matter, the structure of the universe, and 266 signs that contained the essence of all things.
Amma planted a seed within itself, which took the form of a man. However, during the gestation process, a flaw occurred – this marked the origin of incompleteness – and the egg split into two placentas, each containing a pair of twins, one male and one female. After sixty years, one of the males, Ogo, rebelled and emerged from the placenta, attempting to create his own universe. However, he couldn’t pronounce the words necessary to bring this creation to life, and chaos ensued. His counterpart, Nommo, emerged from the placenta and tried to restore order where disorder had taken over.
Amma divided Nommo into four parts, then brought him back to life, thus giving rise to the four original spirits of Dogon culture. Order was restored, but incompleteness remained forever an inherent part of creation. Evil, therefore, is not seen as a separate or inherently malevolent entity but as an inevitable consequence of the world’s imperfection.
It’s fascinating how stories and myths hold the power to convey reality – or, better yet, The Magic of Reality.